President Trump is taking the melding of corporate interests and one of the most famous plots of public land to a new level—well beyond the hawking of Teslas on the White House driveway. The grounds have been turned into a UFC arena for a night of cage fighting under a 92-foot steel arch dubbed "the claw," a $60 million production largely underwritten by corporate sponsors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Logos for Bud Light, Crypto.com, prediction market Polymarket, and law giant Morgan & Morgan will frame the octagon on the South Lawn of the White House, while the Sunday night fights stream only on Paramount+, whose parent company has long-standing business ties with Trump.
Select VIPs are promised exclusive access with packages reportedly going for as much as $1.5 million. There were no ticket sales to the public. UFC expects sponsors to cover at least half the cost and is banking on the spectacle's promotional value. The event is billed as part of America's 250th birthday festivities while coinciding with Trump's 80th birthday. Opponents contend a for-profit spectacle on public grounds blurs ethical lines and demeans the office; Trump has a small stake in UFC's parent, per the New York Times. Among those attending is Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, two days after the Department of Justice approved the company's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, per the Times.
Tens of thousands of fans have poured into Washington for weigh-ins, concerts, and a Lincoln Memorial press conference that saw fighters descend the steps. The entertainment includes a military flyover. Storms could interfere with the plans: Organizers said earlier in the week that the event would go on no matter what the weather, but lightning might be another story. USA Today reports forecasters estimate the greatest chance for thunderstorms in the area will be at 8pm—starting time.
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